Partners for Rural America made a stop in Knoxville on Thursday.

This was for a bus tour that is filled with 30 rural leaders from all over. In Knoxville, the bus tour stopped at the Veterans District, Weiler, and downtown. The stop at the Veterans District included a presentation about the history of the Veterans District, and the unique partnership between the city and county which made the development happen from County Supervisor Kisha Jahner and Knoxville Economic Development Director Glenn Lyons. The visitors also got to see the splash pad and inside one of the new houses built by Origin Homes. Knoxville City Manager Heather Ussery says it was great to highlight the partnership that made the development happen.

“We wouldn’t have the development that we have today if it wasn’t for the partnership of the county and the city. The feedback from the leaders is they were very inspired by that partnership and interested in taking back to their communities as well. Hopefully we will be able to see more of these partnerships in the future but for Knoxville and Marion County as a whole, it was what made this development happen.”

The bus tour also made stops in Pella and Newton on Thursday.